Portable shelter

ABSTRACT

A portable shelter ( 10 ) suitable for weather protection which has a structural frame having a pair of opposed side frames ( 12 ) and an overhead frame ( 13 ) wherein each side frame ( 12 ) has a pair of post assemblies ( 17 ) at each end thereof characterised in that each post assembly ( 17 ) comprises an inner vertical post ( 16 ) and an outer frame member having an upper end ( 18 ) and a lower end ( 19 ) which are attached to the inner vertical post ( 16 ). There is also provided a canopy ( 45 ) located on the overhead frame ( 13 ) which in a retracted position is located adjacent one longitudinal member ( 34 ) of the overhead frame ( 13 ) and in an extended position has a leading end ( 47 ) thereof located adjacent another longitudinal member ( 34 ) of the overhead frame ( 13 ) characterised in that there is provided a winding mechanism ( 48 ) for actuating movement of the canopy ( 45 ) from the retracted position to the extended position and vice versa wherein the winding position comprises an elongate winding shaft ( 50 ) and a handle ( 49 ) accessible from the ground and the canopy ( 45 ) has a tensioning or actuating shaft ( 51 ) coupled to the winding shaft ( 50 ) by universal joint ( 53 ) whereby movement of the canopy ( 45 ) can be initiated from a person rotating the handle ( 49 ) on the ground.

This invention relates to a portable shelter suitable for use as asunshade, street stall, portable bus stop, golf practice shelter or anyother purpose where overhead protection is necessary from inclementweather or excessive sun.

Hitherto portable shelters have been constructed for a variety ofpurposes. For example, CA 2283111 refers to a portable folding shelterhaving a fixed central frame and a pair of outdoor wing frames which arepivotable relative to the central frame. There is also provided aflexible weatherproof roof membrane. Outrigger arms support the shelteron the ground and are provided with ground engaging wheels. Jackingmechanisms are provided to assist in assembling and disassembling theshelter as well as loading or unloading the shelter from a flatbedtrailer.

DE 20014206 relates to a outdoor stall having a rectangular base frame,corner posts, intermediate posts and a ridged roof assembly comprisingrafters, roof battens and a roof membrane. There was also provided apair of wheels which may be raised and a centre pole which protrudesfrom one end of the base frame for moving the stall when required. Themain use of the outdoor stall was as a shelter for cows or forpreventing dry feed from getting wet.

Reference also may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,162 which has a canopyformed from a series of curved rib units that are connected to atriangular support frame at each end of the canopy wherein each supportframe is attached to ground engaging wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,301relates to a similar mobile frame. WO 02/01012 also relates to a similarmobile frame or shelter.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,214 relates to a portable enclosure having a frameconstructed of plastics pipe and an overhead canopy and a clear plasticswindow located in each wall of the enclosure for viewing purposes. Theenclosure is fitted with a single pair of ground engaging wheels and ahandle located above the wheels for transportation purposes.

GB 1577935 relates to a collapsible shelter for vehicles having a bracedtubular frame with flexible weatherproof cover. The frame has legs androof arms hinged together. The shelter is supported by ground engagingwheels.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,496 relates to a portable shelter having a framewhich has front and back arches joined by two opposed skids at theirbottom ends and a set of braces extending between the arches. A coverover the frame has a water impervious top panel and end and back panelsthat are made from an air impervious mesh. The shelter may be used ingolf driving ranges.

EP 945568 relates to a portable wind shelter for use on a beach or hotelterrace having two side walls connected by a cover. The shelter has anopen front and wheels at the rear. The shelter is movable through anumber of orientations to enclose a chair, chaise-lounge or mattress.

Reference also may be made to lightweight tent frames such as thatdisclosed in GB 2210649 which has a plurality of radially arranged Aframes connected by roof periphery poles and supporting roof poles. U.S.Pat. No. 4,825,891 also relates to a tent frame having a removable floorwherein the frame members are secured to tent support fabric.

AU 20500/95 relates to a tent support frame having an upright member andan outrigger member pivotally attached to the upright member and tensilemembers attached to the upright member and the outrigger member.

It will be appreciated that a portable shelter designed for useprimarily in protection from the weather should be readily movable andformed from a frame structure of simplified construction which is stablein strong winds. This is not the case for example with CA 2283111 whichis of relatively complicated construction. Similar conclusions apply toU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,967,162, 5,575,301 and WO 02/01012. In othersituations, the portable shelter will be designed for a particularpurpose or application such as DE 20014206 for sheltering cows orprotect dry feed and will not be suitable as a sunshade because of itscomplicated roof structure. Tent frames such as those disclosed in GB2210649 and AU 20500/95 will also not be appropriate because they willbe based on a tent frame having a peripheral enclosure which only has anaccess opening of restricted size.

It is also believed that it is not essential that a portable shelter foruse in weather protection does not require to be collapsible as in thecase of GB 1577935. Also a surround structure or enclosure having anumber of fixed or non demountable walls and only an open front is notappropriate as a golf practice shelter because such fixed or nondemountable walls provide additional structure that is not necessary ingood weather. These comments apply to U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,214 and EP945568. In other situations conventional portable shelters areconsidered to have a relatively flimsy structure and thus could not beused in golf practice in strong winds. This applies for example to U.S.Pat. No. 6,367,496.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a portable shelterwhich may alleviate the problems of conventional portable shelters asdescribed above.

Accordingly the invention provides a portable shelter suitable forweather protection which has a structural frame having a pair of opposedside frames and an overhead frame wherein each side frame has a pair ofpost assemblies at each end thereof characterised in that each postassembly comprises an inner vertical post and an outer frame memberhaving an upper end and a lower end which are attached to the innervertical post.

The outer frame member may be arcuate in shape or may be triangular inshape. More preferably the outer frame member forms an outer post havinga top portion which extends at an acute angle to the adjacent inner postbefore merging with or forming a junction or vertex with a lower portionwhich then merges with a base part of the adjacent inner post so thatthe lower portion also extends at an acute angle to the adjacent innerpost. Thus in other words each post assembly in side view is triangularas shown in the drawings of the preferred embodiment for example wherethe inner post forms the base of the triangle and the vertex of thetriangle is closer to a top end of the inner post than a bottom end.This means that the lower portion preferably is substantially longerthan the top portion.

It is also preferred that there is provided a reinforcing strut or ribextending between the inner post and the vertex described above.

Each side frame may also include one or more cross membersinterconnecting the opposed post assemblies. Thus preferably there isprovided a lower cross member, a median or intermediate cross memberthat extends between opposed outer frame members of each post assemblyand an upper cross member.

In a preferred form of the invention there is provided a pair of bracingrods, cables or wires which intersect with each other and thus extendacross each open side or open top of the structural frame. Morepreferably there may be provided a pair of spaces in the open top oreach open side and each pair of bracing rods, cables or wires mayintersect with each other across each space.

Reference may now be made to a preferred embodiment of the invention asshown in the attached drawings wherein

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable shelter constructed inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the portable shelter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the portable shelter of FIG. 1 showing theretractable canopy of the portable shelter in a retracted or inoperativeposition;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the canopy in an extended oroperational position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one end of the portable shelter of FIG.1 showing the winding mechanism that causes retraction or extension ofthe canopy shown in FIGS. 3-4;

FIGS. 6, 6A and 7 are perspective views of the universal jointconnecting the winding mechanism to a tensioning shaft of the canopy;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a mounting assembly for a support wheelof the portable shelter;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of part of the mounting assembly of FIG. 8;and

FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the mounting assembly of FIG. 8 aswell as adjacent post support structure of the portable shelter.

In the drawings there is shown portable shelter 10 having a structuralframe 11 which has a pair of opposed side frames 12 and an overheadframe 13 comprising a pair of overhead frame assemblies 14. Each comerof frame 11 comprises post assemblies 15 which each comprise an innervertical post 16 and an outer post assembly 17. Outer post assembly 17has a top portion 18 which extends at an acute angle to post 16 asshown. There is also provided a lower portion 19 of post assembly 17which merges with top portion 18 at 20. Thus vertical post 16, topportion 18 and lower portion 19 may form a triangle as indicated with avertex 20. Top portion 18 is welded to post 16 at 17A.

Lower portion 19 is welded to post 16 at 21 although it is possible thatlower portion may merge with post 16 upwardly of 21 if desired such asat 22. However this arrangement is considered less preferable to theillustrated embodiment where lower portion 19 merges with post 16 at 21.There is also provided a reinforcing rib or strut 23 which interconnectspost 16 and vertex 20.

Each side frame 12 also includes lower bracing rods 24 which areattached to cleats 25 and 26. Each bracing rod 24 is retained in anchorsockets 21A which are welded or attached to cleats 25. There are alsoprovided top cleats 27. There is also provided cross members 28, 29 and30 which each interconnect a respective pair of cleats 25, 26 and 27 asshown. Also illustrated is a pair of upper bracing rods 31 which eachinterconnect cleats 26 and 27 respectively.

Side frames 12 are also supported by ground engaging wheels 32 whereineach of wheels 32 are attached to support brackets 33.

The overhead frame assembly 13 includes a pair of frame assemblies 14each having a pair of opposed horizontal frame members 34 and pair ofopposed oblique frame members 36. Each adjacent frame member 34 and 36are attached to bracket or cleat 36A which comprises a pair of abuttingplates 37 interconnected by fasteners 35 as best shown in FIG. 2. Eachof frame members 34 and 36 in each frame assembly 14 are welded orattached to cleats 38. Cleats 38 are each attached to an adjacent post16 by fasteners 38A shown in FIG. 2.

Overhead frame assembly 13 also includes a pair of bracing rods 39 whichconstitute part of one frame assembly 14 which are attached to cleats 38and 36A. There is also provided an additional pair of bracing rods 41.Each of bracing rods 39 are provided in open gap 52 and each of bracingrods 41 are also located in another open gap 52. Each of bracing rods 39and 41 are supported by cleats 36A and 38. Frame assembly 13 may alsoinclude a cross member 42.

Each of bracing rods 39 and 41 are attached to cleats 36A and 38 byanchor sockets (not shown) welded or attached to brackets 36A and 38.

The portable shelter 10 also comprises an open front 55A, open rear 56Aand open sides 54A.

In FIG. 1 there is also provided a plurality of bowed canopy supportrods 43 which each interconnect opposed frame members 34. There are alsoprovided stops 44 which control movement of a canopy 45 shown in FIG. 3.

Also canopy support rods 43 are maintained in position by retainers 43Ashown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

In FIGS. 34 there is shown a canopy 45 made from canvas or plasticsmaterial such as PVC and which may be unwound from a non-operationalposition shown in FIG. 3 to an operational position shown in FIG. 4wherein canopy 45 fully covers overhead frame 13 and is supported bysupport rods 43. In the position shown in FIG. 4 canopy 45 is retainedin a stationary position by retaining flange 46 wherein canopy 45 has anend portion 47 located underneath flange 46. Each of frame members 43,30 and 29 are shown at a shallow angle to horizontal to facilitatesurface run off of water after rainfall.

In FIGS. 5, 6, 6A and 7 there is shown one form of actuating means forinitiating movement of canopy 45 which comprises a manually operatedwinding mechanism 48 having a handle 49 and rotatable shaft 50 which isattached to rotatable tensioning or control shaft 51 of canopy 45 byuniversal joint 53. Universal joint 53 comprises yokes 54 and 55interconnected by spider 56 or other form of bridging member. Spider 56is in the shape of a cruciform piece as shown in FIG. 6 having axles 57for attachment to yokes 54 and 55. As illustrated yoke 54 is retainedwithin the confines of yoke 55 and FIGS. 5 and 6A refers to a lockedposition for winding mechanism 48 wherein handle 49 is locked withinstop 58 and yoke 54 is locked within yoke 55. However FIG. 7 illustratesthe operational position wherein shaft 50 is no longer normal to shaft51 and is at an acute angle thereto and thus yoke 54 is free to rotatecausing corresponding rotation of yoke 55. Therefore rotation of shaft50 causes rotation of shaft 51 as shown by the arrows in fuel outline.Shaft 50 is attached to yoke 54 by boss 59 and shaft 51 is attached toyoke 55 by tapered component 60 and boss 61.

In FIG. 5 there is also shown a roller blind 62 which may be unwound ifdesired manually to cover open end 54A of portable shelter 10. Also asshown in FIG. 5 winder handle 49 is shown retained in stop 58A whencanopy 45 is in the fully operational position as shown in FIG. 4. Whenhandle 49 is retained by stop 58A this has the effect of tensioningcanopy 45 over overhead frame assembly 13. In FIG. 5 there is also showna storage cylinder 54B for storage of tents or awnings and tent pegswhereby such tents or awnings may be installed in the ground adjacentopen sides 54B and/or open rear 56A to provide additional shelter ifrequired.

In FIGS. 8-9 there is shown an attachment assembly 63 for wheels 32 toportable shelter 10 and in particular plate assembly 64 which isattached to the bottom or foot of post 16. Plate assembly includesbottom plate 65 attached to upper plate 66 by fasteners 67. The wheel 32is supported by a support bracket 33 comprising arms 68 and 69 attachedto axle 70 by fasteners 71. Each arm 68 and 69 is attached to arotatable collar 72 which may rotate with respect to a central bearingassembly 73. Rotatable collar 72 is provided with notches 74 and 75 andthere is also provided a locking pin assembly 76 having handle 77, pin78 and casing 79 which has a spring (not shown) which biases the pin 78to the locked position. In the position shown in FIG. 8 the wheel 32 isoriented longitudinally in the direction of travel. However sometimeswhen it is desired to cause the wheel to travel only a small distance(e.g. when the portable shelter 10 is being towed by a prime mover forexample and it is parked) then the locking pin assembly is withdrawnfrom notch 74 and collar 72 rotated to enable the locking pin to engagenotch 75. This is shown in FIG. 9 in phantom. In FIG. 9 only part ofarms 68 and 69 are shown for clarity.

In FIG. 10 post 16 is shown welded to plate 66 at 80. There is alsoshown mounting bracket or cleat 25 welded to post 16 at 82. Attached tomounting bracket 81 is anchor socket 21A which attaches cable 24 tobracket 81. The anchor socket 21A comprises outer sleeves 83 and 84 andlocking nuts 85 and 86 as well as screw threaded stem 87 retained in nut88 and attached to bracket 25 by attachment fitting 89. When it isdesired to tension cable 24 a screw driver is inserted in an aperture(not shown) in sleeve 84 to engage an internal socket (not shown) of atensioning mechanism (not shown) to adjust the tension of cable 24.Anchor socket 21A is of conventional design and hence will not bedescribed in detail.

In a variation instead of canopy 45 and winding mechanism 48 shown inFIG. 5 there may be provided a roller panel (not shown) which may beused to selectively close all or part of overhead frame 13 and inparticular gaps 52. Preferably the roller panel may move towards theopen front 55A along opposed frame members 30. Such roller panel may beoperated in a number of different ways which include the roller panelhaving support wheels (not shown) at one end which are engaged in tracks(not shown) attached to each frame member 30. The front end of rollerpanel may be pulled by an actuating chain or cable (not shown) or thelike. Movement of the chain may be controlled by one or more supportsprockets (not shown) and initiated by a winch handle (not shown).

Alternatively movement of the roller panel may be actuated in a similarmanner to a roller door of a garage wherein movement of the panel iscontrolled by a lead screw as is known in the art.

In a variation of the foregoing each of spaces 52 may be selectivelyclosed by a roll up blind formed of flexible sheet material byconventional means or as described above in relation to the rollerpanel. Also rear space 56A may also be selectively closed by a roll upblind in similar manner. It will be appreciated that the portableshelter 10 of the invention provides a movable structure which is ofsimplified construction which is stable in strong winds or when towed bya prime mover. This is achieved particularly by post 16 and postassembly 17 having top portion 18 and lower portion 19 shown in thepreferred embodiment. The provision of bracing rods 24, 31, 39 and 41also assist to achieve this objective.

It will also be appreciated that the winding mechanism 48 which mayconstitute another aspect of the invention in being able to move thecanopy from a wound or retracted position shown in FIG. 3 to anoperational or extended position shown in FIG. 5 is facilitated by postassembly 17 which enables winding mechanism 48 to be spaced from canopy45 and thus carry out its function quickly and efficiently.

It will also be appreciated that the portable shelter 10 of theinvention may have skids (not shown) instead of wheels and in anotherembodiment one pair of wheels may be omitted and a pair of carrierhandles (not shown) attached to each of post assemblies 15 at a suitablelocation so that shelter 10 may be moved in a manner similar to awheelbarrow.

Another advantage of the portable shelter of the invention is that byvirtue of having all components or frame members releaseably connectedby the use of cleats or brackets 25, 26, 27, 36A and 38 that each of theframe members 17, 28, 29, 30, 34, 36 and 42 may be rapidly disconnectedand packed in a storage space of limited capacity such as a trailer whenrequired. This conclusion also applies to bracing rods 24, 31, 39 and 41which are all interconnected by anchor sockets 21A to cleats such as 25,26, 27 and 38. Also arcuate canopy support rods 43 may be readilydisconnected from retainers 43A

1. A portable shelter suitable for weather protection which has astructural frame having a pair of opposed side frames and an overheadframe wherein each side frame has a pair of post assemblies at each endthereof characterised in that each post assembly comprises an innervertical post and an outer frame member having an upper end and a lowerend which are attached to the inner vertical post.
 2. A portable shelteras claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer frame member forms an outer posthaving a top portion which extends at an acute angle to the adjacentinner post before merging with or forming a junction with a lowerportion which merges with a lower part of the adjacent inner post sothat the lower portion also extends at an acute angle to the adjacentinner post.
 3. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 2 wherein theinner post, top portion and lower portion forms a triangle with saidjunction forming a vertex.
 4. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 3wherein the inner post forms a base of the triangle and the vertex ofthe triangle is closer to a top end of the inner post than a bottom end.5. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 1 wherein a lower part of theinner post forms a base part of said inner post.
 6. A portable shelteras claimed in claim 1 wherein there is provided one or more reinforcingstruts or ribs extending between the inner post and the outer framemember.
 7. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 2 wherein there isprovided a reinforcing strut or rib between the inner post and thevertex.
 8. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 1 wherein each sideframe comprises one or more cross members interconnecting each postassembly.
 9. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 1 having a pair ofopen sides wherein there is provided a pair of bracing rods, cables orwires which intersect with each other and thus extend across each openside.
 10. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 9 which has an open topor a plurality of open top areas and there is provided a pair of bracingrods, cables or wires which intersect with each other and extend acrossthe open top or each open area.
 11. A portable shelter as claimed inclaim 1 wherein there is provided a canopy for the overhead frame.
 12. Aportable shelter as claimed in claim 11 wherein there is provided aplurality of concave support rods for the canopy which are attached toopposed longitudinal frame members of the overhead frame.
 13. A portableshelter as claimed in claim 11 wherein the canopy is wound from aretracted position adjacent one longitudinal frame member of theoverhead frame to an extended position wherein said canopy covers theoverhead frame and a leading end of the canopy is located adjacent toanother longitudinal frame member of the overhead frame.
 14. A portableshelter as claimed in claim 13 wherein the leading end of the canopy islocated below a flange extending laterally of said another longitudinalframe member.
 15. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 13 wherein saidcanopy is unwound from the retracted position to the extended positionby a winding mechanism comprising a winding shaft coupled to atensioning or actuating shaft of the canopy by a universal joint.
 16. Aportable shelter as claimed in claim 15 wherein the universal jointcomprises a pair of yokes wherein one yoke is attached to the windingshaft and the other yoke is attached to the actuating shaft for thecanopy and there is provided a spider or bridging member rigidlyconnected to each yoke.
 17. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 15wherein said winding mechanism is attached to the outer post therebyspacing said winding mechanism from the canopy to facilitate the canopyattaining the extended position and/or the retracted position.
 18. Aportable shelter having a pair of side frames and an overhead frame andhaving a canopy located on the overhead frame which in a retractedposition is located adjacent one longitudinal member of the overheadframe and in an extended position has a leading end thereof locatedadjacent another longitudinal member of the overhead frame characterisedin that there is provided a winding mechanism for actuating movement ofthe canopy from said retracted position to said extended position andvice versa wherein said winding mechanism comprises an elongate windingshaft and a handle accessible from the ground and the canopy has atensioning or actuating shaft coupled to the winding shaft by auniversal joint whereby movement of the canopy can be initiated from aperson rotating the handle on the ground.
 19. A portable shelter asclaimed in claim 18 wherein the handle and winding shaft may be attachedto an adjacent post of a side frame when the canopy is in the retractedposition.
 20. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 19 wherein thehandle and winding shaft are attached to another post of the side framewhen the canopy is in the extended position.
 21. A portable shelter asclaimed in claim 19 wherein the universal joint is in a locked positionwhen the handle and winding shaft is attached to said adjacent post. 22.A portable shelter as claimed in claim 20 wherein the universal joint isin a locked position when the handle and winding shaft is attached tosaid another post.
 23. A portable shelter as claimed in claim 18 whereinthe universal joint comprises a pair of yokes wherein one yoke isattached to the winding shaft and the other yoke is attached to theactuating shaft for the canopy and there is provided a spider orbridging member rigidly connected to each yoke.
 24. A portable shelteras claimed in claim 20 wherein the adjacent post or said another post ofthe side frame comprises an inner vertical post and an outer framemember and the winding shaft is attached to the outer frame member tospace the winding mechanism from the canopy to facilitate actuation ofmovement of the canopy.